


Control

by twtd



Series: Emancipation [3]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - BDSM, Backstory, Collars, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-18
Updated: 2017-01-18
Packaged: 2018-09-18 07:42:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9374900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twtd/pseuds/twtd
Summary: Snapshots of Alex and Maggie from high school to the present.





	

Alex was 17 when she thought she saw a dark ring forming on her left wrist. She smiled the first time she saw it, nothing more than a faint shadow. She stared at her wrist for a week, then a month. She’d never heard of a tattoo taking that long to appear but she wasn’t an expert. She took to wearing her long sleeved shirts over both her wrists to keep anyone from seeing, from suspecting, that something might not be normal. 

So it was easy to keep wearing her sleeves pulled down when she woke up one morning with a dark band, a quarter of an inch thick, around her _right_ wrist. 

Kara noticed immediately and got excited because now Alex _knew_. Alex couldn’t help but resent Kara’s permanently bare arms. 

Because Alex _wasn’t_ a sub. She knew it deep down. So no one else needed to know that apparently she _was_. 

Eventually, it got hot and surfing season returned and Alex wasn’t going to wear a full wet suit if she doesn’t have to. So she perfected her scowl and dyed her hair black to go with her general punk aesthetic and spent all of her free time in the water where she could throw herself at the waves again and again and again.

***

Maggie has the collar sitting in her locker at the precinct for two weeks before she can get up the nerve to even bring it home. Then it sits locked in one of the saddlebags on her motorcycle for another week before she can make herself bring it inside the apartment. She and Alex have been living together for a couple of months and things are going great but a collar… a collar is a big deal. They have one for when they play, of course, but that isn’t the same. That isn’t permeant. This collar… this is… it isn’t meant to be taken off at the end of the night and Maggie has no idea how Alex will feel about that. 

***

Maggie was young when she got her designation band, just 15, the first in her class, and then there was one more thing that made her different from her peers. She wore it proudly though, just like she did all of her other identities: daughter, sister, brown skinned, queer, dominant. 

***

Alex finds the box in the back of their gun safe, tucked behind the cleaning supplies. She’s looking for an extra bottle of oil when her fingers hit it. Then her curiosity gets the better of her. She almost wishes that it hadn’t. 

The collar itself is beautiful: rich, deep black leather with a subtle pattern and Maggie’s signature embossed in it, the signature gilded with gold leaf. It makes Alex’s breath catch in awe, in panic. She isn’t sure. She quickly closes the box and pushed it back into place. She has a gun to clean. She can think about collars later.

***

Maggie took off for the University of Nebraska the second she could and it was only there, surrounded by 20,000 other undergrads, and one memorable grad student, that she found people who appreciated all of her identities. She majored in criminal justice because she wanted to protect people like her, because she wanted to protect _herself._ She minored in biology because it was fun and because the head of the department was hot as hell. 

***

Alex can’t stop thinking about the collar sitting in the back of the gun safe. It’s starting to haunt her. She’s started looking toward the safe at odd moments and wondering, just wondering when Maggie’s going to bring it up, what she’s going to say, how she’s going to ask. A swarm of butterflies takes flight in her stomach and she still can’t tell if she’s in love or she’s going to throw up.

***

College for Alex was easy. While her classmates were drinking and hooking up, she studied. When they finally started paying attention, she was alone, spending extra time in the labs and the library. She kept her head down and she was exceptional anyway. She graduated summa cum laude, just like everyone expected. So college was easy.  

***

Maggie saw National City the first time from the window of an airplane. She was there to interview with the NCPD and she had never been more excited. Nebraska felt a million miles away, Blue Springs, even further. She walked on the beach after her interview and hoped she did enough, because even after just a few days, National City is already starting to feel like home. 

***

Alex was angry and sad and oh so lonely when J’onn fished her out of the drunk tank down at the local precinct. She went with him because she had no other choice, because she was a failure, because she didn’t know what else to do. He dried her out then kicked her ass and eventually, eventually, she took control of her life again and she was never going to let that go. 

***

It happens because Maggie gets home early. Alex has just opened the gun safe to put her weapon away and just like she’s done every day for the past week, she can’t help but pull the case out and flip it open. She runs her fingers over the upper edge of the collar and once again marvels at just how soft the leather is. She’s just starting to wonder what it might feel like to wear this particular collar when there’s a key in the lock and Maggie is coming inside. 

Alex might have been able to put the case back without Maggie noticing if she had moved quickly enough but instead she freezes. 

Maggie is staring, eyes going between Alex’s hands and her eyes. She slowly puts down her bag and her helmet and her keys without looking where’s exactly she’s putting them. 

“I guess I could have found a better hiding place.” Maggie wrings her hands together. 

“No,” Alex interrupts, “No, I shouldn’t have been…” She shrugs and looks down at the open box in her hands. 

“Do you,” Maggie’s voice is small, “do you like it?” It’s easy to see how uncertain she is. 

Alex nods hesitantly. “It’s…” She clear her throat. “It’s beautiful.” There are the beginnings of tears in her eyes. “May I?” She moves to take it out of the box but waits for Maggie’s permission.

“Yes. Of course.” Maggie’s got a small smile on her lips now. 

Alex does what she hasn’t dared to do yet. She takes the collar from the case and holds it in her hands. Her hands are trembling.

“We should talk about—“ Maggie starts when Alex’s, “No,” stops her in her tracks. As soon as she hears it Maggie’s heart starts to break. Had she misread their relationship that badly?

“No, I mean,” Alex puts the collar down and closes the distance between. She takes Maggie’s face in her hands. “I meant I want to. We don’t need to talk about it because I _want_ it. _I want you.”_ Alex steps away long enough to grab the collar and press it into Maggie’s hands. “I wasn’t sure. When I found it, I wasn’t sure. It made me nervous and scared and…,” Alex flutters her hands. “And I couldn’t tell if it was _good_ or not.” Now that she’s talking, Alex can’t seem to stop. “But I’ve been thinking about it and… well, really it’s the only thing I’ve been thinking about and… I love you and I love us and I’m not nervous and I’m not scared.” Alex finally stops and looks at Maggie with expectation in her eyes. She hopes she didn’t say anything wrong. 

Maggie is looking back at Alex in awe. “God, I love you.” Maggie pulls Alex into a long, deep kiss. 

“So you’re saying yes, then? Is that what I’m hearing?” Maggie is only half teasing. The other half is still terrified that Alex might change her mind. 

“Yeah. I’m saying yes.” Alex kisses Maggie again. “Do you want me to kneel?” Alex is halfway down to her knees before Maggie can stop her and pull her back up. 

“No. No, I don’t want you on your knees.” She cups Alex’s face and brushes her thumb over Alex’s cheek hoping to wipe away the question in her eyes. “I want you on your feet. With me.” 

Alex looks at Maggie in awe, her choice already confirmed. 

Maggie opens the collar and takes a deep breath before meeting Alex’s eyes. Alex lifts her hair and angles her chin up. Then Maggie is slipping the collar on and fastening it. Alex lets her hair drop and twists her neck against the leather. She smiled and Maggie kisses her again. It’s several long minutes before they come up for air and when they do, they’re both panting hard. 

“I love you,” Maggie says to Alex. Now that she knows, really knows that they’re in this together, that Alex is committed as she is, something settles in her chest. “Now get your clothes off and come to bed.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm amazed at how many people requested collaring fic. Thanks for reading this my lovelies. Comments are amazing and I'm on tumblr taking promts @twtd11.


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